Power Rangers: Always a Ranger
by Shadowblade217
Summary: When Thrax, son of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, forms an alliance with Emperor Gruumm and renders the S.P.D. Rangers powerless, the Rangers receive unexpected aid from a powerful being known as the Sentinel Knight, who brings a team of former Power Rangers together to help the S.P.D. team save the Earth.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.**

_**Power Rangers: Always a Ranger**_

**Chapter 1: Spawn of Darkness**

_Aboard the Terror, 2025_

The interior of the Troobian Empire's flagship was dark, filled with a dim green light. Clouds of fog swirled below the elevated pathways that ran throughout the ship.

The massive warship's command bridge was surprisingly quiet. A single figure sat on a throne, gazing blankly at the deactivated holographic display above the control panel.

Emperor Gruumm, the ruler of the Troobian Empire, sat alone, meditating upon his recent efforts to conquer Planet Earth. His glowing red eyes were dim, indicating that he was lost in thought.

The sound of footsteps on the floor drew his attention, as the form of a woman clad in a purple-and-black dress flounced into the room.

Gruumm scowled, his eyes lighting up. "Morgana," he growled. "Why have you disturbed me?"

"Apologies, Emperor," Morgana replied, smirking. "I was bored." She glanced idly at the screen. "When are we going after the Rangers again?"

"As soon as I develop a new strategy," Gruumm intoned. "I assure you, it will not take long."

Morgana was about to reply, when they were interrupted by a beeping alert from the control panel.

"What is that sound?" Gruumm demanded, lurching to his feet.

"Looks like there's a transmission coming in," Morgana murmured, manipulating the controls. "Let's see here... got it!" She straightened up in satisfaction.

With a flash of green light, a small box, looking something like a silver-and-red clamshell, materialized on top of the control panel.

Morgana frowned curiously, picking it up and opening it. A green glow shone from the interior.

_"Greetings, enemy of Earth,"_ a harsh, grating voice greeted them from within the open box. _"I know you seek to conquer the planet. I can help, if you will meet with me."_

Gruumm's eyes flashed in anger. "I need no help," he snarled, snatching the box from Morgana's hand and tossing it to the floor. As soon as it hit the ground, however, a beam of green light shot out from the interior and enveloped Gruumm and Morgana. With a flash of light, they vanished.

.

As the light faded, Morgana looked around wide-eyed, taking in her surroundings. They were now standing in a dimly-lit room, similar to some kind of dungeon. A large circular table sat in the center of the room, with a small fire-pit set into the middle of it.

Gruumm strode forward, his red eyes glowing as he tightened his grip on his staff. "Who dares to bring me here?!" he snapped, his voice echoing in the room.

"Ah, excellent," the same rasping voice from the message said. "You're here already."

The speaker emerged from the shadows, revealing a face that was almost as terrifying as Gruumm's skull-like visage. He was clad in black-and-silver body armor over a red bodysuit. Two downwards-curving horns grew from the sides of his head, above his ears. Most of his head was covered by red armor, with what looked like half of a helmet and visor covering the left side of his face: the right side was bare, but the teeth on his lower jaw jutted out without a lip to cover them. His gleaming yellow eyes were focused intently on the two villains who stood before him. To Morgana's surprise, he didn't seem to be the slightest bit afraid of them.

"Who are you, and why did you bring me here?" Gruumm demanded. "Answer or die!"

"Calm yourself, Emperor Gruumm," the newcomer said, a cruel smile spreading across his hideous face. "I mean you no harm. Quite the opposite, in fact. But I'm getting ahead of things: first of all, allow me to introduce myself." His eyes glittered. "My name is Thrax."

Morgana's eyes widened. "Thrax? I've heard of you. Weren't you banished and locked away forever?"

"As you can see, that's not the case," Thrax replied casually. His eyes narrowed. "Many years ago, I was imprisoned by a powerful being known as the Sentinel Knight. He sought to bring me to justice for my crimes, and used his own power to imprison me in a specially-designed prison, known as a Space Dumpster. It's used to seal away powerful evil beings such as myself. The spell worked, and I was sealed away like a rat in a trap. But evil as potent as mine cannot be contained forever. Over time, his power faded... and, as the Knight grew weaker, I grew stronger. Eventually, my prison's power weakened to the point where I was able to escape." He chuckled darkly. "After all these years, I'm free!"

"And why have you brought me here?" Gruumm's eyes blazed with indignation.

"Simple enough," Thrax replied. "I have a proposal for you, my lord." He tilted his head. "I've been observing your attempts to conquer Earth for some time, and it seems to me that there's only only thing keeping you from achieving your goal... the Power Rangers."

"Well, that's true enough," Morgana muttered. "But you didn't just bring us here to critique us... so why did you do it?"

Thrax smiled. "She's a bright one." His mood turned more serious. "I brought you here to offer my advice: if there's only one thing stopping you, eliminate the problem at its source. Focus all your efforts on taking out the Rangers."

"Did you have anything _useful_ to contribute?" Gruumm hissed.

"Actually, yes." Thrax nodded. "I also want to offer my help. The Rangers are strong, yes... but we're stronger, if we work together."

"Out of the question!" Gruumm spat. "I do not need help from anyone, much less the likes of you!"

"Oh, relax," Thrax replied. "I'm proposing a _temporary_ alliance. I have no interest in conquering Earth: once the Rangers are gone, I'll be on my way, and you can vaporize the whole planet for all I care. All I want is to see the Rangers destroyed. And, fortunately for you, I know exactly how to do it." He extended one hand. "So? Do we have a deal? Earth, in exchange for the destruction of the Rangers?"

Gruumm considered for a long moment, his eyes still smoldering dangerously. But Morgana could see that he was seriously contemplating the offer. Even he had to have heard of Thrax's reputation, and the idea did have merit.

Finally, the Troobian Emperor nodded, shaking Thrax's hand. "We have a deal," he rumbled. His grip tightened, and his eyes flashed. "But do not mistake me, Thrax: if you fail, I will personally end your existence. Are we clear?"

Thrax smirked. "I would expect nothing less. Now, let us begin."

.

_Space Patrol Delta Base_

_New Tech City_

Commander Anubis Cruger sat in his command chair, contemplating recent events. The scale of the Troobian attacks had been slowly increasing in recent months, as if Gruumm was building up to something bigger. Cruger couldn't explain the sensation of unease that he had felt, but he rarely doubted his instincts, especially with regard to Gruumm.

"Commander?" A female voice called his name, drawing his attention to Dr. Kat Manx, who had been examining various readouts on one of the Command Center's computers.

Cruger straightened in his chair. "Yes?"

"I'm picking up a strange energy signature in the industrial sector. I'd recommend sending the Rangers to investigate."

After considering for a moment, Cruger nodded. "Very well. Sound the alert."

Kat nodded, pressing a button on her control panel to activate the base's alarm and intercom. "_Power Rangers, report to Delta Command,_" she called out, her voice echoing from speaker all over the base, as the familiar alarms began to blare.

Within a few minutes, the Space Patrol Delta B-Squad team of Power Rangers hurried into the Command Center.

"What's new, Commander?" Jack Landors inquired as his companions lined up behind him.

"I'm picking up an unusual energy reading in the industrial sector of the city," Kat explained. "I'd like you to look into it."

Sky Tate frowned. "What kind of energy reading?"

"I'm not sure," Kat replied, checking the readouts on the computer again. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"We're on it," Jack replied promptly. "Let's go." At his direction, the five Rangers jogged out of the command center, heading towards the parking garage where their transportation was parked.

Cruger frowned as he watched them go, feeling an unexplainable chill running down his spine.

Kat noticed his disquiet. "Doggie, are you all right?" she asked.

Cruger nodded. "Yes, I'm all right," he replied.

Inwardly, however, he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

.

_New Tech City, industrial sector_

The black-and-white Jeep with the insignia of S.P.D. emblazoned on its side pulled up in an industrial yard near where Kat's sensors had pinpointed the unknown energy surge. The five Rangers exited the car and walked forward, glancing around nervously.

"Any idea what we're looking for?" Jack muttered.

"Not a clue," Elizabeth "Z" Delgado replied. She frowned. "But something doesn't feel right about this place."

"No kidding," Sydney Drew commented. Her brow furrowed. "This place just screams creepy."

"Well, whatever caused that energy surge is here someplace," Sky pointed out. "So let's find it, and then we can get out of here."

Walking forward, Bridge Carson looked around curiously, his eyes flicking back and forth as he surveyed everything within visual range. Other than construction vehicles and piles of sand, gravel and rubble, the construction lot appeared to be deserted.

At that moment, an idea occurred to him, and he grinned. "Hang on, guys," he said confidently, pulling off one of his fingerless gloves. "Let me take a quick scan of the area, see if I can pick up whatever's causing that energy surge."

Taking a step forward in front of the others, Bridge held out his bare hand, activating his genetic power of psychometry. His hand began to glow with a luminous green light, which expanded like a cloud when he waved his hand in an arc in front of him.

At first, he didn't see anything, even though his ability enabled him to see through the piles of sand and gravel as if they were transparent. The only people he was picking up were the other four Rangers.

And then, quite suddenly, he sensed someone else. A momentary flash of a dark, evil presence, so chilling that he almost recoiled involuntarily. His eyes widened, and he gasped.

The others immediately noticed. "Bridge?" Sky asked, a note of worry in his voice. "What's wrong?"

Bridge managed to regain his voice, but before he could say anything, there was a sudden rushing sound in the air around him, and a massive explosion erupted just behind them, sending all five Rangers flying.

Jack scrambled to his feet, looking around unsteadily. _What the hell was that?_

"Ah, if it isn't the world-famous Power Rangers," a harsh, rasping voice called out from within a cloud of smoke produced by the explosion. "Such a pleasure to meet you."

As all eyes turned to him, the speaker stepped out into the sunlight, revealing a hideous, twisted visage: part-humanoid, part-mechanical, and completely terrifying. He was carrying a long staff, made from some kind of silver metal, with a large Z-shape on one end.

"Who the hell are you?" Jack yelled challengingly. He couldn't recognize this creature, but something about him seemed familiar.

"I'm sure you'd love to know, so I'll oblige you," the creature replied. He chuckled. "I am Thrax, son of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, and the orchestrator of your doom!"

.

_AN: Hello, everyone, and welcome to my newest story, __**Power Rangers: Always a Ranger**__! This story was inspired by a fairly simple idea that occurred to me: What if Thrax had come to Earth during the events of Power Rangers S.P.D. instead of during Operation Overdrive? The overall plot of this story will be similar to the events of the Operation Overdrive episode "Once a Ranger" (hence the title of this story), but it will also have some significant differences. What are those differences? For that answer, you'll have to wait until next time! Stay tuned!_

_I tremendously appreciate receiving feedback on my work, so if anyone has any comments or questions regarding this chapter or the story as a whole, please review!_

_See you all next time!_


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